Viola22 is a cabin sharpie: a handy
cruiser suitable for a solo sailor out maybe a week, or
for duet out for a couple of days (I almost said a weekend
but mid-week boating is usually a lot more satisfying).
Compare Viola22 to a Catalina 22 which is something like
the standard in trailer-cruisers. They can be bought for
about $3000 which about what the Viola would cost to build
if you watched your costs. Many older Catalinas aren't
really worn out at except for sun chalk. They are much
harder to rig than the Viola and draw a lot more water,
even with their keels swung up. They will sail better
in rough conditions, but they could never be dry-shoe
beached as the Viola could. I'd say for solo boating from
a trailer the Viola would be a much beter choice. Compare
to a San Juan 21, which might sell used for $2000 on the
trailer. The San Juan will beach and trailer and launch
similar to the Viola but won't have the living quarters..

The living quarters of Viola are very
good for her size. The main sleep room is 6-1/2' long
and almost 6' wide, plenty for two. There's a hatch in
its front for ventilation and setting the main in security.
Aft of the sleep room is a 3' long by 6' wide utility
room. Use it as a bathroom and kitchen and you can see
that the sleep room needn't get too cluttered with those
necessities. Another advantage to this set up is that
the bedding shouldn't get wet every time the main hatch
is opened or when someone strips off some wet clothing.
Aft of the cabin is a large flat cockpit with great storage
underneath which is accessible from both the cockpit and
from the cabin. One trip on a Micro will show you what
a wonderful setup this is. Best of all, this type of deck
is very quick and easy to build. Aft of the cockpit is
a slop well meant to store the motor gear. There's another
slop well in the bow which is great for muddy anchors.

Construction is of straight forward
nail-and-glue jigless plywood needing no lofting or jigs.
The plywood bill looks like twelve sheets of 3/8",
ten sheets of 1/2" (mostly for the double planked
bottom) and one sheet of 3/4" for the leeboard. Ballast
is 600 pounds of steel bars bolted to the bulkheads inside.